Deborah Assayag

Centre universitaire de santé McGill [CUSM]

Domaine : santé circulatoire et respiratoire

Programme Chercheurs-boursiers cliniciens - Junior 1

Concours 2019-2020

Résumé du projet

Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) are a group of lung diseases that result in inflammation and scarring (fibrosis) of the lung tissue. These diseases are typically classified according to their underlying cause, and can be the result of work or environmental exposures, inflammatory rheumatologic diseases, medications or drugs, or genetic predisposition. The burden of disease is heavy: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the most devastating form of ILD, has a median survival of only three to five years. This is on par, or worse than most cancers. The incidence and societal burden of ILD are increasing over time. Patients with ILD also experience debilitating symptoms of cough and shortness of breath. Unfortunately, the right diagnosis is often initially missed or delayed, which will affect long term prognosis. There are medications that have been shown to slow the decline in lung function, but it's unknown if all patients with ILD benefit equally. In addition, delays in initiating treatment can occur, although the causes of these delays remain largely unknown.

This research program aims to identify delays in the care of patients with ILD, identify the risk factors for those delays, predict disease progression, and explore the use of certain medications in understudied population. Registries of patients and their health information will be used to answer 3 specific questions, and an exploratory clinical trial will be performed to assess the use of a novel medication in patients with myositis, a specific type of ILD related to an autoimmune inflammatory disease.